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WORKS SIOGRSSS ADMINISTRATION
Indian-Pioneer History Project' for Oklahoma
Field*Worker*>s name
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Augusta H. Ouster.
This'report made on (date)
Name
July 12. 1937.
193
Gold Stover.
2. Post Office Address
Geary, Oklahoma* Route 2.
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u. Residence address (or location) Five miles north, t\7O east; one and
a half north, one-half east, Canadian County.
4. DATE OF BIRTH: ' Month
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D'ay
Year 1887.
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Place of b i r t h
6. Name of.Father
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Georgia.
Joe Stover.
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Pisco of b i r t h Georgia.
Other information about father Died in 0<:arche, Oklahoma 1929.
7.
Name- of Mother"
Bryant.
Place, of birth Georgia.
Other information about mother One-fourth Cherokee.
Gold was two years old.
Died- when
He does not remember her.
Notes or complete narrative by the field worker du«ali:v •
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storylof the a r n o n interviewed"; Refer to Manual r o r ->].• '•., . ' y^.a
asd questions. Continue on blank sheets if nccorsary or,: • ' . J.'. rirmly to
this form. Niunber of sheets attached
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Augusta H. Ouster.
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Interviewer.
July 12, 1937.
An Interview With Gold Stover.
Route #2. Geary, Oklahomav
Gold Stover was born in-Georgia. His mother died when
he was two years old and he does not remember her. His father
Joe Stover, married Liz2ie Knight, and they, had eight or, nine
children. He had one own brother and two own sisters. His
father moved to Texas and later to Okarche, taking up,a claim
there in 1892. Gold has lived in Geary for forty-six years.
This is the story he told.
There were few settlers here when I oame and those who
were heie had a hard time to live. The Government at one time
asked
the settlers if they wanted financial help, or trans-
portation out of this state and many took advantage of the
free transportation and went back to "the wife's folks".
Those who received wheat to plant often cooked it or
ground in into flour and made bread. The-railroad came as
far as El Reno and the Ohisholm Trail went northwest to
Watonga. This was the road traveled by most* everyone who
went in wagons. Those on horseback took out aoross country
in the direction in whioh they-wanted to gol _
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I have seen a few large herd^s of oat tie, of perhaps
one thousand head, but these were not as large as some herds
that came up the trail.CHEYENNE AND ARAPAHOES.
The Cheyenne and Arapaho Indians received rations once
a week from the Government at Darlington. They would congregate and go in any kind of conveyance, and some would walk.'
They would go in any sort of conveyance and it would look as '
if all the Indians were leaving the country. But they would
get their handout and then scatter out again. They would
receive beans, soap, potatoes, onions, and meat. They did.
not care for anything except meat. The white settlers traded
_^hem out of 'their groceries. . .
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A yoiiag Cheyenne girl was sleeping in a teepee and during
a storm the teepee was struck- by lightning. They called her
many times and a3 she did not answer, they were afraid to go
in. When they did they found her dead. Some one made a rough
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'box and then they were^told to dig a big, big hole., and they
did not get the hole deep -enough'for all her possessions.
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There were about two wagon loads of things and these were- v
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' dumped in the grave and covered with; dirt. Her parents
waited near the grave for three days'a^d placed food there.
Sometimes a dog would come along and eat the food and- they
would put out more, as they wanted to feed her spirit.
WEDDING CUSTOM.
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custom o'f the Cheyenne and Arapahoes is for a,
young buck to hide in the weeds near a camp and If a young
woman conies by and he o&n grab her and keep her three ~days,
he may take her back to oanp as his wife. Then' he gives
her fa.ther as many ponies as he can afford to give. The
girl does not h-.ve muoh to say about it, but if she oan
escape from her oaptor. during the, three days he is trying «
hidden
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*GIFT DANCE
Ofie of the customs-of "the Cheyennes and Arapahoes is
to hold^a Gift Dfiinoe'. This is celebrated by giving blankets,
guns, moca££ina, horses, in fact, anything that they have.
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One man may Receive'several horses, and blankets but he is
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expeated to.gl^ them to some "one.else, and when it is all
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"over no .one is any; better off than when they began their^
•dance. I have not heard of one of these dances for several
years.
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When I oame here the Indians lived in teepees made of,
buffalo hides, and the olothes they wore are like the clothes
white folks wear today, and that was very little, mostly.a
breeoh alout. The Darlington agenoy issued, to the-Indians
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blankets and shawls. They would wrap these around themselves
and often had nothing else to^Wear unless it was made of
buckskin.
The Indians would steal horses belonging to white men,
and often cattle and it was very seldom that the settler
ever got any of th'em baok.. They would not tell on eaoh other.
The only thing they feared was the soldiers at Fort Reno.
painted up and put war paint on -their
ponies, get out torn toias and make every prepara^Ton for a
raid on the white men, but"some one would get word to the
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fort and the soldiers would ride out and the Indians would
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quiet down. That was after the Indians attacked -the soldiers,
with
and/The first shots firgd by the army there was not an Indian
left on his horse.
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'The Gheyennes and Arapahoes wanted to make big^oaraps,
but the soldiers wpuld not allow this, and they would have
to soatterV • The greater the number the more likely there was to be trouble.
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The Indians make their paint from clay, which is some
times brought in from other states.
They-traded for"guns from the white men, but whfcn I
came to Oklahoma" they did their hunting with bows and arrows.
MEDIQINE MEN.
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One time many Indians had measles, in a camp near -'.
Dar^Jng-ton. The Medicine Man wrefr^and' beat the torn toms,.
J^. sang songs and gave them sweat baths, just as soon as they
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were ready to leave th© sweat Jmuse they made a dash for.
*" the river and plunged into .the cold water.* . Thirty-five, of
them died.
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SWEAT HOUSE.
A sweat house is made by digging.a hole, about two feet
deep and two feet in diameter. Posts are placed aVtfund
(this and* canvas or. blankets are placed over the posts so
thatr it is close and no air can get in.1 Then* rocks are heated
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and plaoed in the hole, water is poured on the hot rocks
whioh oauses a steam and the patient is placed in this
sweat house until he is hot and perspires freely.
Then
often he is given a cold bath. Sweat baths are good but
the oold water proved fatal to the measles cases.
BIRTH.
A Medicine Man would be oalled and he would go into
the teepee with the woman.
He' would sing and beat the
•.tom-tom and just before the birth he would leave the mother
alone and she would take oare of herself and the baby. ,,.
If she did not know how or was too sick, she would die, •
It was simply the survival of the fittest.
BURIALS.
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¥?hen I first cam« 'to Oklahoma,, the Indians would watch
the person who was very ill, and when he began to take his
last breaths-they—would wrap him tightly in a canvass and
sew him up.
By the time he was dead they had hi<m well .and
securely wrapped, and would take the body and plaoe it up
in a large tree. There were larger ttfees in Oklahoma than
there are now.
They have been cuf down for building logs.
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The white.-ineri would oarry off the possessions of the
'dead Indians a-rid then the Government began to try to get
them to bury the dead. The first ooffin issued to the ^v
Indians* was new to them and they dug a hole about three
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feet deep and stood the coffin on end^ leaving about three '
feet out of the ground. They had to have more instructions.
Red Bird of Watonga had a brother to die and after he
was buried they led his horse to the grave and shot the
horse, then they carried off the meat to eat. The saddle
was a $40.00 cowboy saddle and Red Bird said that some white
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man would carry it off so'he too^; it himself, t)ut h & had to
quit being a member of the tribe for years.
The graves were dug so shallow that when* you were pass*
ing you could see'clothing and smell the oorpse, for a while
until the skunks aid .sme3§. animals had devoured it.
PUPPY SOUP.
• . Indians are 'very fond of dogs," and they have a dainty
dish when they can get a fat puppy find boll i t and drink the
soup.
They also take a dog, t i e a string around his neck,
and hang him up u n t i l he chokes to death, then they hold the
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body over a blaze untiJ th© hair Is all singed off. The
body le then -plaoed on the hot ground, end covered with
dirt and a fire is built over it and it ia roasted until
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done. The intestines are the choice part of the roast.
•Coasted dogs are served at all special occasions.
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DANCES.
Indians worship the
crow.
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They put on a Grow Dance. This is done by one old.
Indian whose body has very little on, except paint. He
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holds a dead crow onT^ stick., and he will danoe for rain. '
Medicine Men beat the torn tonilp end one will keep time with
the skin Of u rattle snal-e which has b$en filled with shot
or small pebbles which rattles when the body moves.
Swapping Back was a hbted Crow Dancer*
years ago.
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I think it was in 1894 that the Government- refused to
"let
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Indians ha-aa the Sun Dance, be'cause of the common
use of peyote. There was a severe drouth and the Indians
wanted to danoe for a?aln. The Government let them danoe.'
Indians came from Minnesota, South Dakota and other places
and there were many hundreds of da-noers. They made many
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preparations and ate peyote, When the clouds were right
they began to dance and were rewarded by a four day rain.
Peyote is a ""small bean and when the Indians ate it,
they ate one and then another and the more they ate the
longer the dream. I have beefn told that these dreams go
back either one' thousand years or forward the same length'
of time. I can give you names of• several who can get, or
have peyote.
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